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freelancer
Barker
Joined: Mar 22, 2008
Posts: 161
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 Posted:
Apr 11, 2008 - 12:14 PM |
 
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| Post subject: THE FIX: Pro-China crowds attempt to stifle dissenters |
The article proves that the western country would not like to see any pro-China activities.
Quote from one poster in the forum of http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=124451
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What was CNN reporting all day long?
prοtesters, prοtesters and prοtesters.
Actually yesterday supporters outnumbered prοtesters 20:1 .
CNN is the leader of media Liars. |
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THE OLYMPIC TORCH IN S.F.
THE FIX: Pro-China crowds attempt to stifle dissenters
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/09/MNIG1032A0 .DTL
For all the talk of prοtests leading up to the Olympic torch relay, we didn't hear much from the supporters of China.
We learned why early on Wednesday morning. They planned to take over the event.
By 10 a.m. at AT&T Park, where the torch run was supposed to begin, it was obvious that the fix was in.
Thousands of supporters were already there, unloaded from dozens of buses parked across from the ball park. (One torch relay insider told me some in the crowd had been bused from as far away as Los Angeles.) During the day Chronicle reporters were told by some supporters that they had been bused into San Francisco from the South Bay, the East Bay and Sacramento by the Chinese Consulate and Chinese American groups.
They were waving thousands of huge, red Chinese flags or holding up identical, professional-looking placards that read "Beijing, 2008, torch relay."
The official word is that the torch route was drastically changed because of "public safety," but the crowd at AT&T Park was no threat to the runners. In fact, they broke into wild cheers when someone in a torchbearer's track suit walked down the street. But mayoral spokesman Nathan Ballard might have been closer to the truth when he said that the new route let people "enjoy the torch rather than political kabuki theater."
By 1 p.m., the appointed time for the torch runners to begin the relay, the crowd had grown even bigger. China supporters far outnumbered any human rights prοtesters, and anyone from the small pockets of "Free t¡bet" prοtesters was quickly surrounded by the crowd and shouted down. When a t¡bet supporter held up a sign, a Chinese supporter would sidle up, the wind would catch his flag, and it would obliterate the sign from the view of the cameras.
"We suspected that the Chinese government would want a public relations spectacle," said Kate Woznow, campaign coordinator for Students for a Free t¡bet. "Something that they could broadcast back home."
Those inside the command center say city officials and Mayor Gavin Newsom watched the spectacle with growing concern. Although there was a brief scuffle with "Team t¡bet" supporters around a bus early in the morning, the vast majority of the crowd was flag-waving China supporters. Sending the torch down those streets would have been like providing the Chinese government with a made-for-television commercial to show that hardly anyone in San Francisco - or North America - had any qualms about human rights abuses in China.
Newsom won't come out and say that, but he did concede that he took the decision right down to the final minutes.
"Literally, at 1 o'clock, we had two choices," he said in a phone conversation en route to the closing ceremony at the airport. "We could cancel the event or move forward in a different manner. We went to the torchbearers themselves, and overwhelmingly they said they supported the change."
Taking the torch to the other side of town and skirting the whole enormous pro-China crowd at the ballpark might have improved the chances for public safety, but it also gave the torch back to San Francisco. Suddenly, it was back to the original idea, a run through the streets with a symbol of the upcoming Olympic Games, not a carefully planned political charade.
Because this, apparently, is the Chinese government's idea of free speech. They speak freely, and everyone else gets shouted down. Frankly, there is no denying that they were well organized. I took a minute to talk to a t¡betan prοtester, Kal Sang, but I was quickly joined by two young men who listened to the interview and began to interject derogatory comments.
"I hope America hears the voice of these people," said one of the interrupters, Jun Liu, from San Mateo. "The media pretended they would be fair, but they are not just biased, they are extremely biased."
Sang, a t¡betan from Minnesota, who had done nothing more than stand with a friend wearing a "Free t¡bet" shirt, was surrounded by critics. A woman shouted at her, "You know nothing!" and "Go to t¡bet to see for yourself."
"They put pressure on us," said Sang, who looked like a soccer mom. "They try to get us to push them, but we are nonviolent. We are not against the Olympics. They should hold the Olympics. But we are speaking for people who do not have a voice."
At that moment, the China supporters seemed to think that they'd carried the day. The "Free t¡bet" crowd had been harassed to the point that they packed up and walked toward the Ferry Building. It appeared that the torch would be coming down the street any minute, and the news photos and video would feature thousands and thousands of cheering China supporters waving red flags.
A cocky young man walked past me and read his sign out loud, "Welcome to Beijing," he said.
It was about then that it was announced that the torch was unexpectedly up in the Marina district, running through tree-lined neighborhoods past a small crowd of ordinary people without a political point to make.
Just for future reference, China - or for that matter, anyone else: You can try to take over, but good luck. This is San Francisco.
C.W. Nevius' column appears on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. E-mail him at cwnevius@sfchronicle.com. |
Last edited by freelancer on Apr 11, 2008 - 01:33 PM; edited 2 times in total |
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hammerforlife
Low Seater
Joined: May 24, 2004
Posts: 3087
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Apr 11, 2008 - 12:41 PM |
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Your post was copied from a Western media source. So which parts of that account do you think are wrong, misleading biased and brainwashed?
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| Because this, apparently, is the Chinese government's idea of free speech. They speak freely, and everyone else gets shouted down |
Interesting quote though, thanks for that. Rather apt for this forum. |
Last edited by hammerforlife on Apr 11, 2008 - 12:51 PM; edited 1 time in total |
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boredengineer
SuperStar
Joined: Oct 17, 2007
Posts: 1344
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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Apr 11, 2008 - 12:48 PM |
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freelancer, I really don't think you understand what point you are tryign to make here. This article does not really support your position. |
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freelancer
Barker
Joined: Mar 22, 2008
Posts: 161
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Apr 11, 2008 - 12:57 PM |
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| szwliew wrote: |
| freelancer, I really don't think you understand what point you are tryign to make here. This article does not really support your position. |
Thx,I adjusted the words already. This article is not biased itself, but it proves that the western country would not like to see any pro-China activities. If the prοtesters outnumbered the people of Pro-China, I doubt if they will make a decision to change the route even cancel it. |
Last edited by freelancer on Apr 11, 2008 - 01:36 PM; edited 1 time in total |
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yu888
Board Deity
Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Posts: 19240
Location: ZhongShanParkArea SH
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Apr 11, 2008 - 01:32 PM |
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Oh, so you are still here huh?
One day XinHua will be strong enough to dictate what the world media prints, but for now we only get one-sided of the propaganda. Of course its biased, all media is. because media are made of people, and people are biased. The only things that works without human bias is pure communism, and even that was adulterated by human bias. Sad that its always human bias that is at fault. |
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The right to free speech does not grant you freedom from the repercussions of what you say. This and more on my Blog...Random Thoughts about Living in Shanghai...and more |
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findus
Fire-eater
Joined: Feb 03, 2004
Posts: 2520
Status: Offline
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Apr 11, 2008 - 04:52 PM |
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Well, why do you think the media would mostly report on the prοtests?
Clue 1: Think about how many torch relays in history have been disrupted even a fraction of the current one.
Clue 2: "Dog bites man" and "Man bites dog" - which is more newsworthy?
Why are all these prοtests taking place? What does this tell you about the situation in t¡bet? Questions, questions, questions, try them sometime... |
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brasil
PopStar
Joined: July 17, 2006
Posts: 1072
Status: Offline
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Apr 11, 2008 - 05:49 PM |
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what to do when they refuse to communicate ?
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leidelaohu
Board Lord
Joined: June 11, 2007
Posts: 5739
Status: Offline
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Apr 11, 2008 - 07:46 PM |
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| freelancer wrote: |
| Thx,I adjusted the words already. This article is not biased itself, but it proves that the western country would not like to see any pro-China activities. If the prοtesters outnumbered the people of Pro-China, I doubt if they will make a decision to change the route even cancel it. |
That was not an article. It was a column. A column is a personal, biased opinion of events and no one is supposed to equate it with news or a paper's official viewpoint. It even says so in big letters at the bottom of what you pasted. Papers usually have opposing columnists. The Chronicle certainly does.
Try to learn some basics about what a newspaper is before you jump to conclusions. |
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